Wanderlust

Bittersweet means ‘Watch for Dogs after Waterfalls’

May 15, 2008 at 7:33 pm erinodaniel 1 comment

Hello Wanderlust Supporters and Beastly Readers/Riders. My name’s Erin O and I’m posting here on Wanderlust for the first time. Yes, I’m one of the fifteen that will be reporting on our adventures over the next six weeks of bike and RJ crazeee beauty. I’m also in the midst of moving (pre-ride) from Duluth, MN my home of seven years. So as I prepare for this amazing tour I’m breaking up with the one and only Lake Superior. Oh!, so many emotions. Friends listening to me process last night used the word bittersweet. Hmmm. Is that what this is?

My goal before I left Duluth was to bike my favorite paved trail (you never know if that’s going to be possible in May in the Northland!) and swim in the lake. On Sunday evening I went in Mighty Mz. Superior for the first time this year!- I emerged a little cold and soooooo overcome with gratitude I was sobbing. I love this place AND know it’s time to move on, further east to be closer to old friends, family, less subtle feminist ambition.

So in the midst of saying many goodbyes, I’m visiting the places I still haven’t seen in this part of the cuntree as part of my tour training. Yesterday I took my svelte bike Yoko to Amnicon Falls State Park across the bridge (three bridges are needed here because of all the water, only one is bikable) into Wisconsin. It was the first Hot ride of the season and the park was stunning!! My whiter than white MN skin soaked up the sun next to the dramatic water. The beauty of the park is due in part to the location of a fault that has elevated sandstone above basalt at the height of the Falls. Elsewhere the sandstone reaches down into the earth 3000 feet! It was a great exploration of new- preparation for the next chapter of my life in a hand full of ways.

As I was coasting down a hill after leaving the park, relaxed and totally blissed out, this terror of a dog came peeling out of its driveway and nearly got my exposed-for-the-first-time-in-6-months ankle. My heart jumped into my throat. I’d prepared myself for a possible bear sighting but the dog was mos def a surprise. Nora reports two canine bites last year on her ride. It is a risk I’m aware of and, as an eternal optimist, I’ll report that the adrenaline associated with a dog chase can be ever so helpful when you have to climb UP the hill you’ve just coasted down. Aggressive dogs= assertive legs. Thanks for the freebee dog. It IS all about timing and grade. I believe I’ve found my working definition of Bittersweet.

Entry filed under: Erin O'Daniel, On the Road. Tags: .